The European Commission approved an €18 million support package to Iran on Thursday (23 August) sending an important signal both to Teheran and Washington that Brussels will not back on its efforts to preserve the nuclear deal despite US sanctions.

German carmaker Daimler has shelved its expansion plans in Iran due to the reimposition of US sanctions but it might not be the last EU company to pull the plug on future aspirations, businesses organisations told EURACTIV.

As a result of the Trump administration's decision to withdraw from the Iran nuclear deal, Washington's re-imposition of sanctions hit European companies operating in the country from Monday (6 August) onwards. The EU has updated its ‘blocking statute’ to temper the impact.